Shout Out to Some 2021 Reading Challenges

Happy (belated) 2021. I think the crazy start to 2021 proves that we are experiencing the effects of late stage capitalism on a dying planet, and not that 2020 was just "a bad year." But...books are a great distraction! My goal is to read 50 books this year (I read 36 in 2020), but I also joined some challenges to help push me to reach that goal.

*My rule is that a book cannot count for more than one category within a challenge, but they can count towards multiple amongst different challenges.

I will update my challenges throughout the year for each one I'm participating in!

1. The Pop Sugar Reading Challenge - These are so creative and so fun!

- Categories I'm most excited about: Pretty much all of them, but an Afrofuturist book, a book set mostly outdoors, and a book by a Muslim American author.

1. An Afrofuturist book: An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

2. A Book by an Author that Shares Your Zodiac Sign: Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

3. A Dark Academia Book: Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

4. A Best Seller from the 1990s: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

5. A Book Set in Multiple Countries: A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa (Japan, North Korea, and China)

6. A Book Set Somewhere You'd Like to Visit in 2021: Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (New York or Texas)

7. A Book by a Blogger or Youtube Personality: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown (she got famous from her TED talk, but I'm counting it. She also has a blog and lots of social media content).

8. A Book Featuring Three Generations: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

9. A Book with a Black and White Cover: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

10. A book by an Indigenous author: Red Star and Blue Star Defeat Spexman by Randy-Lewis K'ayaxan

11. A Book that Has the Same Title as a Song: Dear World (9 Inch Nails Song) by Bana Alabed

12. A Book That Discusses Body Positivity: Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls by Jes Baker

13. A Book That Has Fewer Than 1,000 Reviews on Goodreads: Written in Black by K.H. Lim

14. A Book You Think Your Best Friend Would Like: The Last Aloha by Gaellen Quinn

15. A Book by an Author that has Written more than 20 Books: The Institute by Stephen King

16. The Longest Book on Your TBR List: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

17. The Shortest Book on Your TBR List: Coming Out Party by Nikki Levy and Shangela

18. The Book on Your TBR List that has the Prettiest Cover: Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

19. The Book on Your TBR List that has the Ugliest Cover: Singapore is Not an Island by Bilahari Kausikan

20. A Random Book from Your TBR List: The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski

21. A Free Book: The Island of Sea Women (borrowed from the library) by Lisa See

2. My Diversity Challenge

1. Read 3 books about Black Experiences

2. Read 3 books about Indigenous Experiences

3. Read 5 books about Asian or Middle Eastern Experiences

4. Read 5 books about Latino Experiences

5. Read 3 books about Women's Experiences

6. Read 3 books about LGBTQIA+ Experiences

7. Read 5 books about other groups

The Following Bloggers had similar ideas as me - to read around the world or diversify their subject matter!

3. The Uncorked Librarian

- Categories I'm most excited about: A book with a beverage in the title and a book translated from Spanish

January (Truthbomb Nonfiction): Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

February (Book by a Modern Black Author): An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

March (Historical Fiction about Women): The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

April (Book Set on a Train): Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

May (Book Set in India): The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

June (Book with a Beverage in the Title): Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

July (Book Set on an Island): Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

4. Book Voyage from the Book Girl's Guide

- Category I'm most excited about: The Arctic/Antarctic

January (Arctic and Antarctic): Arctic - Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

February (Western Europe): Spain - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

March (Eastern Europe): Poland - The Painted Bird by Jery Kosinski

April (Northern Asia): North Korea - A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa

May (Southern Asia): Brunei - Written in Black by K.H. Lim

June (A Book Set on an Island): Hawaii - The Last Aloha by Gaellen Quinn

July (Australia or New Zealand): New Zealand - The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

5. Celebrity Readers 2021 Diversity Reading Challenge

Category I'm most excited about: physical/sensory/cognitive/intellectual/developmental disabilities

January (Diverse folktales/culture/mythology; or diverse retelling; or non-western setting): Red Star and Blue Star Defeat Spexman by Randy Lewis-K'ayaxan

February (Black/African American Author): The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

March (#ownvoices): On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

April (Middle Eastern/South Asian Author): Dear World by Bana Alabed

May (East Asian/Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander Author): Singapore is Not an Island by Bilahari Kausikan

June and July = LQBTQIA Books

B: Coming Out Party by Nikki Levy and Shangela

A: Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp

Well...I better get to work. Happy reading y'all!